Canes Hoops: Top moments from the 2018-19 season

The 2018-19 season will go down as one of the most forgettable in Coach Larranaga’s tenure. However, there were still moments throughout the season that made Canes fans proud to cheer for the green and orange. Let’s look back at those instances:

Zach Johnson Game-Winning Dunk vs Fresno State

The former Florida Gulf Coast scoring leader spent his last year of eligibility in Coral Gables, and after slowly working his way into the rotation, Johnson punctuated his arrival with a game-winning play during the semifinals of the Wooden Legacy Tournament. In the game’s final seconds, Chris Lykes pulled up from midrange but came up short, only for Johnson to fly in from the perimeter for the put-back dunk, leaving 0.1 on the clock. It was astonishing to see a game end in such fashion, and perfectly capped off the grad-transfer’s breakout performance in which he led the team with 24 points.

Zach Johnson Game-Winning Jumper vs Clemson

The Miami Norland-product appears for the second time on this list with his second game-winning shot of the season. This time, the Canes were down 1 in the final seconds of a conference matchup, and instead of relying on Chris Lykes to get the final shot, the ball ended up in Johnson’s hands at the top of the key. Johnson nearly lost the ball on his crossover, but quickly regained his dribble and released a foul-line jumper, which rattled around the rim before falling through, using up nearly all of the remaining time in the process. The shot gave the Canes a much-needed victory after losing a heartbreaker in Chapel Hill.

Chris Lykes Goes Off Against UNC

Speaking of the Canes trip to UNC, the Tar Heels were the 8th-ranked team in the nation when Miami came to town on February 9th. In what should have been an easy game for Coach Roy Williams and his team, the Canes controlled much of the action into the final 2 minutes of the game. At that time, Chris Lykes took matters into his own hands as he answered UNC freshman Coby White’s constant daggers. The Tar Heels through every defender at Lykes during the final minutes, but the Canes leading-scorer managed to continue hitting highlight-reel shots from the outside en route to 27 points. Coby White and the Tar Heels did enough to force overtime and ultimately come away with the victory, but Lykes reminded the college basketball world why he is one of the most dangerous players with the ball in his hands.

Amp Lawrence and Ebuka Izundu Senior Send-Off

After a disappointing season, the Canes had one last opportunity to put on a great show for their home fans. In a stroke of poetic genius, Miami’s two seniors playing in their last home game ever provided the keystone performances to guide the Canes to victory. Anthony Lawrence II fell one assist shy of a triple-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Ebuka Izundu provided one of his best performances with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Both players will be remembered fondly by Canes fans, and this final performance emphasized why.

Go Canes